Reflection About Cultural Experience

Introduction

Participating in any cross-cultural event can be interesting, challenging, and a bit overwhelming. It can leave a person with mixed emotions, some positive and some negative. I believe the outcome of the overall experience relies upon the individual's ability to adjust to situations and to be sensitive to cultural difference. We must understand that these differences are what makes our cultures unique. This paper will provide a detailed write up of the cultural interaction I experienced during a recent tour of Niagara Falls, New York City, and Washington D.C. I will draw upon the concepts learned in this course, and annotate any successes or failures while building my CQ capacity.
Assessing the Cultural Experience
In assessing

There wasn’t much interaction on the first day of the tour, but by midway through the second day, people became a little more engaged. I was initially a little uneasy, or a bit uncomfortable as most the tourist on the trip were of Chinese heritage. Many of them did not speak or understand English as they were just vacationing in the U.S. However, our tour guide spoke and understood English, and this was a plus.
While at Niagara Falls, the second day of the tour, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with the tour guide. The conversation was general, mostly asking questions about various tours they offered. I didn’t engage in much interaction or conversations with others on the tour, as they were enjoying and taking pictures of the

Because this was a tourist environment, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I did know that the tour company’s primary customers were those of Chinese heritage. This was one of the main reasons I embarked on this journey, to give me the opportunity to engage with others of a different cultural background while enjoying what this trip had to offer. The only preconceived strategy was to take the tour, and allow myself to get to know them through idle conversation, that would hopefully evolve into a more meaningful